


The Beginning of Everything

by lucycantdance



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Genre: (Gil-Galad), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Trans, Canonical Character Death, Domestic Bliss, F/M, Maybe - Freeform, Mpreg, Multi, Mysterious illness, Queerplatonic Erestor/Glorfindel, Third Age, Trans Celebrían, Trans Elrond, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, am I parsing my own feelings by writing them into elrond?, fluff and some angst, look - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 13:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13502474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucycantdance/pseuds/lucycantdance
Summary: The year is 129 of the Third Age, and many changes are on the horizon.





	The Beginning of Everything

**Author's Note:**

> The major canon divergences in this fic are:
> 
> 1) Elrond and Gil-galad were openly together, and in theory privately married, although their marriage was an open secret  
> 2) Celebrían and Elrond did not get married in the year TA 109  
> 3) Celebrían and Elrond are a similar age and have known each other since the age of about 50  
> 4) Everyone is queer and Elven society is neither heteronormative nor cisnormative, fight me
> 
> If you want to read more about the third point, see the end notes.

"I love her, and it is the beginning of everything."

\- F. Scott Fitzgerald

***

"How many more trunks do you have to bring over from the blue room?" Celebrían asked, towelling off her hair as she stepped into the dressing room, where Elrond was unpacking.

Elrond brushed a hand over the robes he'd just hung up and turned to pick up another set, draping them over the hanger just so. "One or two."

"Oh good," Celebrían replied, shooting him a mischievous look when he raised an eyebrow quizzically. "I was concerned that I'd have to get rid of the bed in order to make room for all your shoes."

Elrond threw a glove at her. "I don't have that many shoes!"

"Really? Could've fooled me," she replied with a grin. Elrond just rolled his eyes and hung up the last set of robes from the trunk at his feet, then closed it and moved it out of the way, planning to store it properly tomorrow.

He'd finally decided to move out of the blue room, Imladris' master suite, into the red room: Celebrían's suite across the hall. Elrond had shared the master suite with Gil-galad up until the High King's death, and the passing of more than a century since hadn't made it easier to sleep there alone. Given that, and the fact that Elrond and Celebrían's deep friendship had since become something more, it only made sense for them to move in together. But neither of them wanted to trespass on the millennia of memories the blue room held with a new relationship, so Elrond moved into the red room.

Strictly speaking the room wasn't red; the walls were an off-white colour just shy of cream, and the carpeting and curtains were maroon. The furniture, with the exception of the oak worktable in the corner of the sitting room, was mahogany; and the upholstery on the couch and comfortable chairs was maroon and beige. Unlike the master suite, which was decorated in homage to the ocean and coastal beaches, with lots of blue and green and accents of either gold or white, the colour scheme of Celebrían's room was more befitting of a cosy, homely cottage.

Celebrían had referred to it once in passing as "the red room", and the name stuck. She had the doors painted red soon after, and Elrond remembered how amused she'd been by her own joke, how excited to show him, how her face lit up when he had also laughed.

Having finished his unpacking quota for the day, Elrond disappeared into the bathroom to take a much-anticipated shower, and emerged wearing nothing but his burgundy silk dressing gown. He rubbed his chest on the way over to the bed, trying to alleviate some of the tenderness he'd been feeling for the last couple of days.

"Sore?" Celebrían asked, noticing the movement with some sympathy.

"Mm, just a bit. And I think I ate too much today, I feel bloated." Elrond stifled a yawn and flopped down onto the bed next to Celebrían.

"You did eat more than you usually do."

He shrugged. "I've just been so hungry."

"Must be all those shoes you had to carry over here."

Elrond cracked open an eye to glare at her grinning face, and then finally succumbed to the yawn pushing its way up his throat. "What time do you have to leave for the border tomorrow?" 

Celebrían shut her book and set it aside. "About six."

"I'd like to have words with whoever put you on the three-week patrol instead of the daily."

Celebrían huffed in amusement. The duty rosters were currently Elrond's job, since Almárëa, the Captain of the guard, was on secondment in Lothlorien. The chore could have passed down to one of Almárëa's subordinates, but Elrond liked to stay involved with as many areas of the realm as he could. The soldiers fought in his name now, the least he could do was take an active role in their employment every now and again.

"Yes, how dare they. They should be fired," Celebrían agreed as she shifted to lie down. She laughed when Elrond rolled over towards her with a groan, ending up partially on top of her, one leg between hers and his head on her chest, facedown. He sighed into her nightgown, and then lifted his head up to rest his chin on her sternum. 

"I know it's only three weeks but I'm going to miss you." 

"I'll miss you too," she replied. She trailed her fingers across his cheek and around into his hair, then reached up to release the thick tresses from the bun Elrond had put them into keep them out of his face as he unpacked. Celebrían spared a brief, amused glanced at his choice of hair ornament – it was a pen handle, sans nib – before she tossed it onto the nightstand and buried her fingers in the cascade of dark brown waves, slowly combing through the soft strands.

Elrond closed his eyes and basked in her ministrations for a few moments, then shifted his weight up onto his elbows and leant forward to kiss her.

Celebrían deepened the kiss for a moment, and then pulled away. "You know what we're going to have to do?"

"What?"

"Have some really great farewell sex."

Elrond laughed. "I like that plan."

"Good." Celebrían pulled him back in for another kiss, and Elrond shifted slightly, correcting his balance by bending the leg that lay between Celebrían's. The movement brought his thigh into contact with evidence of Celebrían's growing interest. He pulled away from the kiss slightly to say something, then promptly forgot what it was when Celebrían took advantage of his distraction and swiftly flipped their positions.

Elrond laughed again, slightly winded, as he landed on his back, straddled by Celebrían. He rested his hands on her thighs and enjoyed the view, regaining his breath as he watched her strip off her nightgown and cast it to the side in one swift movement. She reached down to undo the tie of his dressing gown and pushed the garment open, the silk rippling over his skin between her long fingers.

Celebrían leant down for another kiss, her hands snaking slowly up Elrond's sides, thumbs tracing over his defined abdominal muscles but not going further than his ribs; his chest was always a hit-and-miss area and she was especially loathe to touch him there, even lightly, if it was sore. Elrond's hand came up to cradle her jaw as she slid her hands back down, her thumbs retracing the path they'd just taken. She gripped Elrond's hips when she reached them.

Elrond opened his eyes when Celebrían's lips disappeared from his own. He looked up to see her grin devilishly down at him, and then all of a sudden she shifted back to dip her head between his thighs, and Elrond was aware of little else.

***

Later, after they finally rolled apart, when the last aftershocks of pleasure had twitched through Elrond's body and Celebrían was dozing at his side, he gathered the energy to get up. He only made it as far as the edge of the bed before Celebrían grumbled and reached out to trap his wrist.

"Wh'r' going?"

"Just to the privy, I'll be back soon."

"Fine." Celebrían let go of his wrist and pulled her arm back with an exaggerated sigh.

Elrond grinned to himself and got up, bending to pick up his discarded dressing gown and drawing it over his shoulders as he went. He also retrieved Celebrían's nightgown from where it lay a few steps away and tossed it towards the bed. It landed unerringly on top of her naked body.

"Bring me a cloth on the way back," she commanded imperiously, the effect of the tone somewhat diminished by the white material covering her face.

"Come and get one yourself!" Elrond shot back, and shut the bathroom door.

A little while later, as a newly freshened Elrond stood at the washstand braiding his hair, the door opened to admit a sleepy Celebrían, nightgown slightly askew on her shoulders, drinking from a glass of water as she walked. She leaned around him to place the half-full glass in front of him, then embraced him briefly from behind before reaching up to take over braiding his hair for him. He gratefully drained the water as Celebrían swiftly wove his hair together, and handed her a hair tie when he felt her getting near to the end.

Once Elrond's hair was neatly ensconced in a four-piece braid, Celebrían hugged him again, resting her cheek between his shoulder blades. Elrond smiled at their reflection in the mirror, raising his hands to cover hers where they were laced together across his stomach. As Elrond went to turn in the embrace their joined hands caught his eye, and for a split second the world spun around him. When his head cleared again, it was to find that Celebrían had come to stand in front of him, brow creased in concern.

"Are you alright?"

He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. Just tired."

She scrutinised him for a few more seconds, then let him off with a nod. "Alright. I'll be out soon."

He hummed in acknowledgement and went back out into the bedroom, making for the chest of drawers. He selected some pyjamas and shucked his dressing gown to slip them on, trying once again to massage the tenderness out of his chest as he headed to the bed.

He draped his dressing gown over the foot of the bed and climbed onto the mattress, pulling the sheets back up from the end and arranging them neatly over his legs. As he did so, Celebrían came out of the bathroom and made her way around the room to put out the candles.

Only moonlight lit the room when Celebrían got back into bed with him, sliding her feet beneath the covers as Elrond pulled them up. They shared one last kiss before lying back down; Celebrían curled up on her side next to Elrond, with her head tucked under his chin. Elrond made sure the covers were up properly over Celebrían's shoulders, then wrapped his arms around her and let sleep take him.

******

Elrond woke several hours later to the sounds of Celebrían buckling her sword belt, and he opened his eyes to find her smiling at him.

"Good morning! You woke up just in time, I was just about to go."

"Going to sneak away while I'm asleep? I see how it is," he joked, pushing himself up onto one elbow. 

"Yes, I had planned to leave you with nothing but the memories of the mystical night we spent together, but now that's ruined."

Elrond passed a hand over his face and chuckled briefly before his mirth got overtaken by a yawn. "Want me to come down with you?"

Celebrían shook her head. "No, it's chilly out; it'll be cold today. Stay here where it's warm and go back to sleep."

Elrond nodded and lay back down. "Alright. If that's what you want."

She laughed fondly at him and came over to pull the covers back up around his shoulders before leaning down for a goodbye kiss.

"Be safe," Elrond said, fighting the urge to go back to sleep that was clawing at his eyes.

"I'll try," Celebrían replied. "Don't miss me too much."

"I'll try," Elrond parroted. He caught her grinning at him before his eyes pulled themselves closed again. There was a loud knock on the door and he heard her heave an exasperated sigh, then she kissed his forehead and murmured a goodbye, and the next thing he heard was her opening the door.

Whoever was on the other side of it started to greet her loudly, and then there was a thump and the sound of Celebrían quietly hissing at them to "be quiet, Elrond is sleeping!"

That was immediately followed by a round of whispered, teasing _ooooh_ s, but whatever else was said was lost as Elrond let himself fall asleep again, a smile on his face.

***

The room was sunlit when Elrond woke again, and the bed was cold. He grieved the loss of Celebrían's body heat for a moment, until an unsettling turning in his stomach drew his attention. Moments later he shot to his feet and dashed into the bathroom, dropping heavily to his knees in front of the privy just in time for his stomach to launch an evacuation.

He heard Alyss's customary single knock just as he lent over in preparation for a second round, and was only dimly aware of the sound of the door opening and her cheerful greeting.

"Good morning my lady, my...lord?" her voice drifted further away as she went to the door of the bedroom, voice lifting at the end when she obviously found the bed empty. Elrond heaved again, and Alyss was almost immediately by his side.

"My lord! Good heavens."

Her skirt hem abruptly disappeared from his view, and upon its return he raised his eyes to find her holding out a damp cloth for him. He gratefully accepted it and wiped his mouth, then refolded the towel so he could wipe his whole face with the clean section.

She crouched down next to him and laid a motherly hand on his forehead. "Are you alright?"

Elrond took a deep breath, taking stock of himself. When he was certain that the remaining contents of his stomach were going to stay there, he nodded. "I think something I ate yesterday didn't agree with me, or perhaps I ate too much to begin with."

Alyss helped him to his feet and let him rinse out his mouth and discard the cloth, then guided him back out to the sitting room and into a chair by the fireplace, which she lit, and bustled off to make him some tea with the kettle she had brought with her.

"Where is your fine lady this morning?"

"On patrol; she left a few hours ago."

"Oh of course; that slipped my mind. Will she be gone long?"

"Three weeks."

Alyss made a sympathetic noise as she brought the tea over and handed it to him. "That's no good."

"It's my own fault, I did those rosters," Elrond replied with a rueful smile as he accepted the glass from her with a murmured thanks. It was a lemon and ginger tisane, fragrant and good for both upset stomachs and palate cleansing. He inhaled the steam for a moment before taking a sip.

Alyss moved off to open the curtains throughout the suite, allowing Elrond a moment to gather himself. He drank the tea slowly, watching the fire grow as his stomach gradually settled. He stretched out his legs, enjoying the warmth of the fire on his bare feet. Celebrían had been right, it was quite cold - somewhat unseasonable for this time of the year, but not wholly unusual - and the chill had made its way through the stone walls and into the room.

Elrond finished the tea and felt mostly normal again by the time Alyss wandered back over to him, all curtains opened and the contents of the laundry basket gathered into a sack which she had set by the door.

"Feeling any better?" 

He nodded. "Yes, much. Thank you."

"Shall I bring you some breakfast?"

He made a face as his stomach twisted slightly again. "Just something small please, Alyss. Some fruit and maybe a little bit of bread, I don't want to risk much more."

"Alright then. I'll be back in a little while. Ring for me if you need anything sooner."

"I will."

"Good." She said, nodding once, and then left him to his own devices. Elrond stood after a moment and stretched, then refilled the kettle that Alyss had left and hung it over the fire to reboil.

Elrond took his pyjamas off and left them draped over the foot of the bed where he'd left his dressing gown the night before, and padded into the dressing room. Halfway through binding his chest he accidentally pulled too tight and was reminded that his chest was still tender, but it wasn't so bad as to make binding uncomfortable. Besides, he could always unbind later if it got worse.

He put on a pair of good, warm socks, and then dressed in dark grey leggings and an off-white under tunic with a high, starched collar, and finished the ensemble with a thick, soft cotton tunic dyed a sumptuous navy and edged in silver. It was cut in the current fashionable style, double-breasted with silver buttons; well-tailored through the torso but looser below the hips, where it fell to two-thirds of the way down his thighs. The sleeves were long and flared ever-so-slightly at the ends, into a shape vaguely reminiscent of a calla lily's petals.

He pulled out a cloak in a darker navy, a grey scarf and a matching pair of gloves and selected a pair of high, black boots to put on later when he went into Nanost with Erestor to run some errands. He was only going to finish moving the rest of his belongings over until then, and opted to remain in his sock feet for the time being.

The kettle started to whistle just as Elrond hung his cloak on the hook by the main entrance of the suite, gloves in the pocket and boots on the floor underneath it. He went over and pulled the kettle off the hook and took it over to the worktable in the corner of the room, below the shelves where he kept a small store of various beverage ingredients and some glasses and mugs to put them in. He gathered the ingredients of the _hröahulda_ decoction he took every morning and prepared it, habit and muscle memory rendering conscious thought unnecessary. He set his aside to steep for a minute and nearly started preparing Celebrían's, before remembering she wasn't there to drink it.

He shook his head, amused at himself, and went into the bathroom to clean his teeth and check his hair. It had stayed neat during the night apart from a slight mussing on the side that he'd slept on, but he easily fixed that with a strategically placed hairpin.

Elrond sat down by the fire again to drink the _hröahulda_ , now steeped to perfection. It tasted a little odd to him today, but he chalked it up to his having been sick. Just as he finished draining the mug, Alyss came back in, carrying a square plate laid with a sliced pear and piece of warm, fresh bread spread with butter. Elrond stood to meet her, and accepted the plate, immediately taking a bite of the bread which smelt so enticing that it made him feel hungry despite himself.

She smiled at him and shook her head slightly and then walked into the bedroom to make the bed. He followed her and nearly choked on the mouthful of bread when he saw her pulling the sheets off the bed and remembered what state they were in.

"Wait, no, let me do that. You don't have to do that."

She turned and raised her eyebrows at him, an amused smile pulling at the corner of her mouth. "Trust me, my young lord, there is nothing on your sheets that will shock me. These need doing and it's washing day anyway."

Elrond sighed and relented, shoving the rest of the bread in his mouth to distract himself from feeling embarrassed-

"Looks like you had a good night last night," Alyss quipped.

-which lasted all of five seconds. Elrond groaned and covered his face with his free hand, while Alyss laughed.

"Come now, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's good to see you moving on with your life." She carefully bundled up the sheets and put them in the corner out of the way, and laid a hand on Elrond's shoulder as she passed him on the way to the linen cupboard. "It's what he would have wanted."

Elrond smiled against the tears that were suddenly pricking the back of his eyes and nodded slightly. "I know."

She moved her hand from his shoulder to briefly cup his face, and then went to get some clean sheets. Elrond ate the pear — which was sweet and crispy, just the way he liked them — while he watched Alyss work, and told her about his plans to finish moving his belongings over when she asked what we was going to do with his day.

"Need any help moving all your shoes over?"

Elrond rolled his eyes and sighed in mock exasperation, unable to keep from returning the grin she graced him with. "No, all of my shoes are already here."

"Ah! Good to know. Not sure we can spare the muscle for that today." She winked at him and finished making the bed just as he finished his breakfast. She took the empty plates from him as she passed by him again, somehow managing to balance them and the old sheets and make it look easy.

"Now, you're sure you'll be alright? Not feeling ill again?"

Elrond shook his head and followed her out through the sitting room. "I'll be fine."

"Well, ring for me if you need anything."

He held the door open for her. "I will, Alyss. Thank you."

"Have a good day, my Lord."

"You too."

She disappeared down the stairs and Elrond turned his gaze to the blue double doors across the hall with a sigh.

Time to get to work.

**Author's Note:**

> So, "what if Elrond was trans" is an idea that has been bouncing around in my head for a while, and the more I thought about it the more I liked it. The original plan was to make a secondary AU in which to incorporate this idea but then it ended up being a mainstay of my regular AU. This caused some problems because obviously Elrond needs to have three children and they need to be his, and adoption/surrogacy is messy in this universe so the only solution, clearly, was for Celebrían to also be trans. (A side note: Maedhros was too.) The _hröahulda_ is like Elven HRT, but without being actual HRT; because elves do not have medical science advanced enough for hormone therapy, but what they do have is magic plants. The name " _hröahulda_ " means something like "body changer". 
> 
> 3, expanded) The way I see this is that when Maglor and Maedhros knew their time with twins as a family was ending, they sent Elrond and Elros, escorted by Gildor Inglorion, to their closest living relative: Celeborn. The twins stayed with Celeborn and Galadriel (and Celebrían, obviously) throughout the War of Wrath and the establishing of Lindon. After they reached their majority (age 100), they and Celebrían went north of the river to Forlindon and the High Court, and Celebrían later accompanied her parents to Eregion and then Lothlorien. So Elrond and Celebrían have been friends for basically their entire lives.


End file.
